This article is about the Khazar capital. For other uses, see Atil (disambiguation).
Atil, also Itil, was the capital of the Khazar Khaganate from the mid-8th century to the late 10th century. Known to have been situated on the Silk Road, in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea, its precise location has long been unknown.
The name Atil is from the Turkic phrase meaning "great river", a name of the Volga River.[citation needed] In 2008, a site at Samosdelka, a village in the Volga Delta that is some 30 km south-west of Astrakhan, was identified by some as the site of Atil, but this remains controversial.
Map showing the major Varangian trade routes: the Volga trade route (in red) and the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks (in purple). Other trade routes of the 8th–11th centuries shown in orange (note that Atil is the major commercial outpost from which trade extends into the far reaches of "Deep Asia").
Atil was located along the Volga delta at the northwestern corner of the Caspian Sea. Following the defeat of the Khazars in the Second Arab-Khazar War, Atil became the capital of Khazaria.
Ibn Khordadbeh, writing in ca. 870, names Khamlij as the capital of the Khazars. This is presumably a rendition of Turkic khaganbaligh "city of the khan" and refers to the city later (in the 10th century) named as Atil in Arab historiography.
At its height, the city was a major center of trade, and consisted of three parts separated by the Volga. The western part contained the administrative center of the city, with a court house and a large military garrison. The eastern part of the city was built later and acted as the commercial center of the Atil, and had many public baths and shops. Between them was an island on which stood the palaces of the Khazar Khagan and Bek. The island was connected to one of the other parts of the city by a pontoon bridge. According to Arab sources of the 10th century,[citation needed] one half of the city was referred to as Atil, while the other was named Khazaran.
Atil was a multi-ethnic and religiously diverse city, inhabited by Jews, Christians, Muslims, Shamanists, and Pagans, many of them traders from foreign countries. All of the religious groups had their own places of worship in the city, and there were seven judges appointed to settle disputes (two Christian, two Jewish, and two Muslim judges, with a single judge for all of the Shamanists and other Pagans).
Svyatoslav I of Kiev sacked Atil in 968 or 969 CE. Ibn Hawqal and al-Muqaddasi refer to Atil after 969, indicating that it may have been rebuilt. Al-Biruni (mid-11th century) reported that Atil was again in ruins, and did not mention the later city of Saqsin which was built nearby, so it is possible that this new Atil was only destroyed in the middle of the 11th century.
Samosdelka siteedit
The archaeological remains of Atil have never been positively identified. It has been hypothesized that they were washed away by the rising level of the Caspian Sea. However, beginning in 2003 Dmitri Vasilyev of Astrakhan State University led a series of excavations at the Samosdelskoye site near the village of Samosdelka (Russian: Самосделка) in the Volga Delta. Vasilyev connected artifacts from the site with Khazar, Oghuz and Bulgar culture, leading him to believe that he had discovered the site of Saqsin. The matter is still unresolved. In 2006 Vasilyev announced his belief that the lowest stratum at the Samosdelka site was identical with the site of Atil.[1] In 2008, this team of Russian archaeologists announced that they had discovered the ruins of Atil.[2]
Galleryedit
Referencesedit
^Vasilyev, D. "Итиль-мечта (The Itil Dream)". Retrieved 2008-09-28.
^Mirovalev, Mansur (2008-09-20). . Yahoo News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 27 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
Further readingedit
Barthold, W. (1996). "Khazar". Encyclopaedia of Islam (Brill Online). Eds.: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill.
Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 2nd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2006.
Douglas M. Dunlop. The History of the Jewish Khazars, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1954.
Peter B. Golden. Khazar Studies: An Historio-Philological Inquiry into the Origins of the Khazars. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980.
Norman Golb and Omeljan Pritsak, Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1982.
Thomas S. Noonan. "The Khazar Economy." Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 9 (1995–1997): 253–318.
Thomas S. Noonan. "Les Khazars et le commerce oriental." Les Échanges au Moyen Age: Justinien, Mahomet, Charlemagne: trois empires dans l'économie médiévale, pp. 82–85. Dijon: Editions Faton S.A., 2000.
Thomas S. Noonan. "The Khazar Qaghanate and its Impact on the Early Rus' State: The translatio imperii from Itil to Kiev." Nomads in the Sedentary World, eds. Anatoly Mikhailovich Khazanov and André Wink, pp. 76–102. Richmond, England: Curzon Press, 2001.
Omeljan Pritsak. "The Khazar Kingdom's Conversion to Judaism." (Journal Article in Harvard Ukrainian Studies, 1978)
D. Vasilyev (Д. Васильев), "The Itil Dream (at the excavation site of the ancient capital of the Khazar Khaganate)" (Итиль-мечта (на раскопках древнего центра Хазарского каганата)) (in Russian)
Sourcesedit
Brook, Kevin Alan (2018). The Jews of Khazaria, Third Edition. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. ISBN9781538103425.
External linksedit
Russian archaeologists find long-lost Jewish capital
Atil entry from Dead Cities (in Russian)
February 16, 2024
atil, this, article, about, khazar, capital, other, uses, disambiguation, also, itil, capital, khazar, khaganate, from, century, late, 10th, century, known, have, been, situated, silk, road, vicinity, caspian, precise, location, long, been, unknown, name, from. This article is about the Khazar capital For other uses see Atil disambiguation Atil also Itil was the capital of the Khazar Khaganate from the mid 8th century to the late 10th century Known to have been situated on the Silk Road in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea its precise location has long been unknown The name Atil is from the Turkic phrase meaning great river a name of the Volga River citation needed In 2008 a site at Samosdelka a village in the Volga Delta that is some 30 km south west of Astrakhan was identified by some as the site of Atil but this remains controversial Contents 1 History 2 Samosdelka site 3 Gallery 4 References 5 Further reading 6 Sources 7 External linksHistory edit nbsp Map showing the major Varangian trade routes the Volga trade route in red and the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks in purple Other trade routes of the 8th 11th centuries shown in orange note that Atil is the major commercial outpost from which trade extends into the far reaches of Deep Asia Atil was located along the Volga delta at the northwestern corner of the Caspian Sea Following the defeat of the Khazars in the Second Arab Khazar War Atil became the capital of Khazaria Ibn Khordadbeh writing in ca 870 names Khamlij as the capital of the Khazars This is presumably a rendition of Turkic khaganbaligh city of the khan and refers to the city later in the 10th century named as Atil in Arab historiography At its height the city was a major center of trade and consisted of three parts separated by the Volga The western part contained the administrative center of the city with a court house and a large military garrison The eastern part of the city was built later and acted as the commercial center of the Atil and had many public baths and shops Between them was an island on which stood the palaces of the Khazar Khagan and Bek The island was connected to one of the other parts of the city by a pontoon bridge According to Arab sources of the 10th century citation needed one half of the city was referred to as Atil while the other was named Khazaran Atil was a multi ethnic and religiously diverse city inhabited by Jews Christians Muslims Shamanists and Pagans many of them traders from foreign countries All of the religious groups had their own places of worship in the city and there were seven judges appointed to settle disputes two Christian two Jewish and two Muslim judges with a single judge for all of the Shamanists and other Pagans Svyatoslav I of Kiev sacked Atil in 968 or 969 CE Ibn Hawqal and al Muqaddasi refer to Atil after 969 indicating that it may have been rebuilt Al Biruni mid 11th century reported that Atil was again in ruins and did not mention the later city of Saqsin which was built nearby so it is possible that this new Atil was only destroyed in the middle of the 11th century Samosdelka site editThe archaeological remains of Atil have never been positively identified It has been hypothesized that they were washed away by the rising level of the Caspian Sea However beginning in 2003 Dmitri Vasilyev of Astrakhan State University led a series of excavations at the Samosdelskoye site near the village of Samosdelka Russian Samosdelka in the Volga Delta Vasilyev connected artifacts from the site with Khazar Oghuz and Bulgar culture leading him to believe that he had discovered the site of Saqsin The matter is still unresolved In 2006 Vasilyev announced his belief that the lowest stratum at the Samosdelka site was identical with the site of Atil 1 In 2008 this team of Russian archaeologists announced that they had discovered the ruins of Atil 2 Gallery edit nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp References edit Vasilyev D Itil mechta The Itil Dream Retrieved 2008 09 28 Mirovalev Mansur 2008 09 20 Scholar claims to find medieval Jewish capital Yahoo News Associated Press Archived from the original on 27 September 2008 Retrieved 2008 09 28 Further reading editBarthold W 1996 Khazar Encyclopaedia of Islam Brill Online Eds P Bearman Th Bianquis C E Bosworth E van Donzel and W P Heinrichs Brill Kevin Alan Brook The Jews of Khazaria 2nd ed Rowman amp Littlefield Publishers Inc 2006 Douglas Morton Dunlop 1997 Itil Encyclopaedia Judaica CD ROM Edition Version 1 0 Ed Cecil Roth Keter Publishing House ISBN 965 07 0665 8 Douglas M Dunlop The History of the Jewish Khazars Princeton N J Princeton University Press 1954 Peter B Golden Khazar Studies An Historio Philological Inquiry into the Origins of the Khazars Budapest Akademiai Kiado 1980 Norman Golb and Omeljan Pritsak Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century Ithaca N Y Cornell University Press 1982 Thomas S Noonan The Khazar Economy Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 9 1995 1997 253 318 Thomas S Noonan Les Khazars et le commerce oriental Les Echanges au Moyen Age Justinien Mahomet Charlemagne trois empires dans l economie medievale pp 82 85 Dijon Editions Faton S A 2000 Thomas S Noonan The Khazar Qaghanate and its Impact on the Early Rus State The translatio imperii from Itil to Kiev Nomads in the Sedentary World eds Anatoly Mikhailovich Khazanov and Andre Wink pp 76 102 Richmond England Curzon Press 2001 Omeljan Pritsak The Khazar Kingdom s Conversion to Judaism Journal Article in Harvard Ukrainian Studies 1978 D Vasilyev D Vasilev The Itil Dream at the excavation site of the ancient capital of the Khazar Khaganate Itil mechta na raskopkah drevnego centra Hazarskogo kaganata in Russian Sources editBrook Kevin Alan 2018 The Jews of Khazaria Third Edition London Rowman amp Littlefield Publishers Inc ISBN 9781538103425 External links editRussian archaeologists find long lost Jewish capital Atil entry from Dead Cities in Russian Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Atil amp oldid 1189762392, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
